Panting, very, very heavily - after exercise or play question.

[HeyJude]

Hi there, I keep meaning to ask my vet who is a rottweiler owner this question but it slips my mind every time I see him. We have a wonderful 10 month old female rottie, my husband and I both work at home so we spend almost all our time with her and exercise, train and play several times a day. It may be a long walk in the mornings, a 20 to 30 minute training session, or a quick 10 minute kick of a ball around the yard three or four times a day during a break from work, or a swim in our pool which our girl loves best of all. She also has almost daily visits from the german shephard next door (her boyfriend) and they play, wrestle or chase each other in huge circles around our yard. So she gets heaps of exercise every day.

So after that very long intro, my question is about her panting after any of these activities, she is our first Rottie so I am not sure what is normal for the breed and cannot locate an answer on this forum or on other searches I have done. She pants big time, I mean really heavy panting, you can see her whole body 'thumping' in time to her heart beat and it sometimes takes a good 10 to 20 minutes for her to recover; then she sleeps - bless her!

We do live in a hot climate and she works hard at her training or playing I have just never seen any other dog pant so heavily. We always make sure there is plenty of water for her before during and after and she seems to drinks enormous quantities, we also stay out of the middle of the day sun and try to play in the shade when it is particularly hot.

Is really heavy panting normal for a rottweiler.

Thanks in advance for your response.

[maxcat]

I am no expert on this by any means!! But I will say that our first experience with a Rott was our friends 8 month old boy and at first, I was astonished and concerned with the amount he panted. Maybe I am wrong, but I'm thinking others will say it is fairly normal, to make sure she has plenty of water and is not out in really hot temps and know the signs for when she is too hot and/or too tired. I also heard that if you put water on their chests, it helps them cool down - as opposed to their backs. Maybe someone can tell us if that is true or not.

Good luck, I am looking forward to hearing what more experienced owners have to say.

[HeyJude]

Hi Maxcat, thanks for your response. I have been doing some more searching since posting my question and it does seem that rottweilers do pant quite a lot. I too look forward to some more responses but do really appreciate your reply and it is interesting about the water on the chest. We always ensure there is lots of drinking water and carry water for her when we are out and offer it to her often.

[Weily4Life]

Your dog sounds lucky to have you.
Dogs pant to cool themselves. Dogs pant heavily after overexertion.
You did not mention whether all of this activity started recently. Is your dog conditioned. Dogs need to be conditioned just like athletes.

On a side note it is important to not exercise your dog for one hour before eating and at least one hour after eating.

[jonesjoyful]

this is my first rottie also and when she was about 2-3 months old, i almost took her to the after hours clinic for this very reason!!!! i had german shephards prior to her and i never experienced such panting..she is 7 months old now and continues to do this at times, particularly when she comes in for bedtime...i have mentioned it to my vet and she has been thoroughly checked, had complete blood panels...all normal..

[poohbearsmom]

I think I'd be more concerned if my dog did not pant after a good round of exercise as the dog would not be able to cool itself properly.

It's always a good idea to give a dog plenty of cool down time. A spray cool water on the feet and inner legs will help the dog cool off a little faster, but don't "shock" the body with it.

When we run our dogs daily, each dog gets plenty of time to "walk off" the exercise and cool itself on the tile floors before re-kenneling. We also give them access to small amounts of water severak times after heavy exursion to ensure they don't drink too much too fast, as that can cause problems.

[spidey]

Some dogs sweat (pant) more than others, and panting is how they cool down, so this can absolutely be entirely normal and healthy, however I would be sure to ask your vet about it and get him/her to give the dog's heart a really thorough listen, since excessive panting can also be a sign of heart problems.

[HeyJude]

Thanks for your replies, we are lucky to have our beautiful girl Kali and to be able to spend so much time with her.

Just to share some information, there is barely a couple of hours a week when neither my husband or I are not with her, mostly we are all together. When we are working she is at our feet, when we are outside at least one if not both of us are with her, when we go out she comes with us whenever possible, to the beach, to the park, to the shops, to our French lessons, (we live in Mauritius), and even to a couple of restaurants where we sit outside and she is allowed to sit just off from the table on her lead. Although both my husband and I grew up around dogs this is the first dog for both of us as adults (we are in our early 40's) as we have always traveled and worked long hours away from home up until now we would never have a dog. I never knew it was possible to adore a dog so very much; she gives us an enormous amount of pleasure, is smart, obedient and learning new things all the time. Ok enough of my raving.

Weily4life - thanks for your comments and for the advice about exercising before or after eating, we do not always follow the hour rule. The exercise is not new we have been gradually building it up since we got her at 10 weeks. She has always panted a lot it just seems even more lately, maybe because it is very humid at the moment.

Jonesjoyful - I also have only had experience with German Shephards as we had them as family dogs all my life and I never knew one of them to pant like this. The 'boyfriend' german shephard does not pant like her, not at all. I am glad your rottie is healthy.

Poohbearsmum, I see your point I am just not used to the heavy panting. We have a squeeze bottle which runs into a little tray that we take with us when our walking and so she gets a little at a time as she needs it. At home she has her bowl and is free to drink during play as she gets thirsty.

I won't worry about the panting, seems she is fit, happy and normal.

[HeyJude]

Thanks, Spidey, we are going to the vet tomorrow to have a little sore on her face checked so I will ask him to check her her heart.

[Leige]

After a 1 1/2 mile walk and run with some play time in the yard afterwards my boy pants pretty good and when in the house he continues to pant. I have found out that if I crate him for about 15 minutes he really calms down and the panting subsides... Its just a Rottie thing I guess. My previous two Rotties panted an awful lot too after exhausting excercise.

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by HeyJude

Thanks for your replies, we are lucky to have our beautiful girl Kali and to be able to spend so much time with her.

Just to share some information, there is barely a couple of hours a week when neither my husband or I are not with her, mostly we are all together. When we are working she is at our feet, when we are outside at least one if not both of us are with her, when we go out she comes with us whenever possible, to the beach, to the park, to the shops, to our French lessons, (we live in Mauritius), and even to a couple of restaurants where we sit outside and she is allowed to sit just off from the table on her lead. Although both my husband and I grew up around dogs this is the first dog for both of us as adults (we are in our early 40's) as we have always traveled and worked long hours away from home up until now we would never have a dog. I never knew it was possible to adore a dog so very much; she gives us an enormous amount of pleasure, is smart, obedient and learning new things all the time. Ok enough of my raving.

Weily4life - thanks for your comments and for the advice about exercising before or after eating, we do not always follow the hour rule. The exercise is not new we have been gradually building it up since we got her at 10 weeks. She has always panted a lot it just seems even more lately, maybe because it is very humid at the moment.

Jonesjoyful - I also have only had experience with German Shephards as we had them as family dogs all my life and I never knew one of them to pant like this. The 'boyfriend' german shephard does not pant like her, not at all. I am glad your rottie is healthy.

Poohbearsmum, I see your point I am just not used to the heavy panting. We have a squeeze bottle which runs into a little tray that we take with us when our walking and so she gets a little at a time as she needs it. At home she has her bowl and is free to drink during play as she gets thirsty.

I won't worry about the panting, seems she is fit, happy and normal.

She likely is fit, happy and normal, but spidey brings up a valid point. There's no need to panic or over worry, but next time you're at the veterinarian for a routine visit, have the Dr. check her ticker. That way you'll have peace of mind.

Living in Florida, it's HOT and MUGGY most of the year, so our dogs can take a while to cool down completely after heavy exercise. Cardiovascular exercise is good, and so is a tired dog.

[cambridge]

Originally Posted by spidey

Some dogs sweat (pant) more than others, and panting is how they cool down, so this can absolutely be entirely normal and healthy, however I would be sure to ask your vet about it and get him/her to give the dog's heart a really thorough listen, since excessive panting can also be a sign of heart problems.

DITTO! First thing I thought of suggesting was a heart check.

[HeyJude]

Hi everyone, just wanted to post back to say the vet did a heart check on Kali and says she is fine and seems very fit and healthy. Thanks for your posts.

[jazzking1971]

good on the heart check!

One thing to think about... has she had her first heat? I notice females panting more heavily around the time they go into heat.

[HeyJude]

Hi Jazzking1971 thanks for your reply. She has been spayed a month ago. I really do think it is our hot humid climate that is causing this, along with good hard exercise.